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Topic: Problems in the ladies' room (Read 53175 times)

While browsing the internet to see how other forums have talked about this subject I came across a very pithy sentence: "It's called a flush HANDle and not a flush pedal."

For the people who flush with their foot: how do you get out of the stall? Do you grab a piece of toilet paper and slide the lock? And do you do that before or after you foot flush?

Because if you don't use some tp you are now touching where countless others have touched (and who knows how often a cleaner will think to wipe that knob down). And if you flush and then open the door... you are now covered in aerosol anyway.

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"I feel sarcasm is the lowest form of wit." "It is so low, in fact, that Miss Manners feels sure you would not want to resort to it yourself, even in your own defense. We do not believe in retaliatory rudeness." Judith Martin

For me, foot flushing was not a conscious choice as a result of any sort of chain of reasoning. Like many others, it was simply what we were taught/shown to do and it never occured to us to do otherwise.

How many people actually spend time trying to make their bathroom habits perfectly logical? Or cooking habits, or the way you hold your fork or tie your shoes? It's an ingrained habit from early childhood, and trying to do differently feels awkward and "wrong" for no logical reason.

Although I have to say, the levers I usually encounter are nowhere near the 36-42 inches cited elsewhere in this thread. The ones in the bathroom at work are exactly knee-high to me. (I just checked). The "head in the toilet" feeling of trying to reach my hand back there is quite skeevy.

A lever 42 inches off the ground? No way I could/would hike my foot up there.

While browsing the internet to see how other forums have talked about this subject I came across a very pithy sentence: "It's called a flush HANDle and not a flush pedal."

For the people who flush with their foot: how do you get out of the stall? Do you grab a piece of toilet paper and slide the lock? And do you do that before or after you foot flush?

Because if you don't use some tp you are now touching where countless others have touched (and who knows how often a cleaner will think to wipe that knob down). And if you flush and then open the door... you are now covered in aerosol anyway.

I may be covered in aerosol anyway, but my face hasn't been in the spot where the aerosol exploded out of the toilet. Its a few feet away, where the concentration of spray is less.

I honestly could not care less about what gets on my hands in a normal toilet space because I'm about to wash my hands.

When I was younger, I leaned over a toilet to flush it in a public restroom that was a bit dirty and run down. As soon as I pressed the handle down, a drop splashed from the bowl up into my eye. It freaked me out and I just knew I was going to get an infection and go blind. I don't remember who introduced me to the idea of flushing with my foot, but once I learned that it was just what was done (she was surprised that I used my hand) by some, I never went back!

While browsing the internet to see how other forums have talked about this subject I came across a very pithy sentence: "It's called a flush HANDle and not a flush pedal."

For the people who flush with their foot: how do you get out of the stall? Do you grab a piece of toilet paper and slide the lock? And do you do that before or after you foot flush?

Because if you don't use some tp you are now touching where countless others have touched (and who knows how often a cleaner will think to wipe that knob down). And if you flush and then open the door... you are now covered in aerosol anyway.

Wile yes touching the lock is touching an object countless have touched before, but not in likelihood with the bottom of their shoe. I do sympathize with those who don't care for the foot flushing habit, but the reality it is a very widespread practice [when it comes to certain toilet designs] and not likely to go anywhere soon.

...Although I have to say, the levers I usually encounter are nowhere near the 36-42 inches cited elsewhere in this thread. The ones in the bathroom at work are exactly knee-high to me. (I just checked). The "head in the toilet" feeling of trying to reach my hand back there is quite skeevy.

A lever 42 inches off the ground? No way I could/would hike my foot up there.

I just measured the lever in my home bathroom, which I do flush by hand simply because its my home (and because I have a toilet seat lid, something most public restrooms do not have) and it is 19.5 inches from the floor. And to look at it, its no lower, in fact probably a bit higher, then most one would see out in public; Out in public they are often the same height as the toilet seat itself (which in my home, a standard toilet) is 16 inches high, my lever at home is a bit raised up the pipe.

I had a flushometer toilet in which the handle was actually just below the seat. But I've never seen that design anywhere else, sigh! (for non-handle reasons--it used an 8" rough-in and only stuck out into the room by something like 15". The handle & pipe were attached to the side.

While browsing the internet to see how other forums have talked about this subject I came across a very pithy sentence: "It's called a flush HANDle and not a flush pedal."

For the people who flush with their foot: how do you get out of the stall? Do you grab a piece of toilet paper and slide the lock? And do you do that before or after you foot flush?

Because if you don't use some tp you are now touching where countless others have touched (and who knows how often a cleaner will think to wipe that knob down). And if you flush and then open the door... you are now covered in aerosol anyway.

Wile yes touching the lock is touching an object countless have touched before, but not in likelihood with the bottom of their shoe. I do sympathize with those who don't care for the foot flushing habit, but the reality it is a very widespread practice [when it comes to certain toilet designs] and not likely to go anywhere soon.

I think the point that squeakers was making - and something I've wondered about too - is if someone's flushed with the hand they used to wipe with and therefore got 'matter' on the handle (which presumably is why people flush with their foot in the first place, so they don't touch it?), then it's also going to be on the door handle and anything else the hand flusher has touched on the way out. So foot flushing seems rather pointless, since you're going to touch it on all these other surfaces anyway. Unless the foot-flusher also uses paper when they open the door, operate the taps, etc.

While browsing the internet to see how other forums have talked about this subject I came across a very pithy sentence: "It's called a flush HANDle and not a flush pedal."

For the people who flush with their foot: how do you get out of the stall? Do you grab a piece of toilet paper and slide the lock? And do you do that before or after you foot flush?

Because if you don't use some tp you are now touching where countless others have touched (and who knows how often a cleaner will think to wipe that knob down). And if you flush and then open the door... you are now covered in aerosol anyway.

Wile yes touching the lock is touching an object countless have touched before, but not in likelihood with the bottom of their shoe. I do sympathize with those who don't care for the foot flushing habit, but the reality it is a very widespread practice [when it comes to certain toilet designs] and not likely to go anywhere soon.

I think the point that squeakers was making - and something I've wondered about too - is if someone's flushed with the hand they used to wipe with and therefore got 'matter' on the handle (which presumably is why people flush with their foot in the first place, so they don't touch it?), then it's also going to be on the door handle and anything else the hand flusher has touched on the way out. So foot flushing seems rather pointless, since you're going to touch it on all these other surfaces anyway. Unless the foot-flusher also uses paper when they open the door, operate the taps, etc.

Regarding the bolded - the thing is, I don't think that is the reason people flush with their foot. Maybe its the reason some people do it, but I don't think it can be said it is the reason everyone or even most foot flushers use their foot.

In this thread several foot flushers have chimed in with various reasons for using their foot:

its what they were taught/its now habit

not wanting to lean their face over the toilet bowl

because previous users have already used their foot so the flusher is dirty with floor/ground filth (as opposed to hand germs)

So the hand germs on the handle/lock don't really for many foot flushers even come into play, or if they do, they are simply one reason of many not the primary reason.

I'm hypothyroid - my theory is that my body temperature isn't quite high enough to trigger an infra-red sensor OR that a light sensor might have been knocked askew so it isn't registering my shadow properly.

Because it could not possibly be that I am not casting a shadow.....I accept the reality that I am more solid than I was thirty years ago - make that a larger & more solid person. It's going to take a HIGH wind to blow me away...and I don't go outside in hurricanes!

A few years ago I had a subway trip where I started wondering if I was still alive and on the same time/space plan as the rest, every sensor door (either pressure or movement sensitive) were snubbing me. A guy that was making the same 'route' started snickering (not in a bad, making fun of me way) after the third door refusing to open .I also have auto-flushing ones that don't cooperate but usually triggering it with my hand seems to do the trick. Put it in front of the sensor for 2 sec. and take it away, the light change should trigger it.

I had a really similar experience at a conference this past summer. The hotel toilets, faucets, and soap dispensers were all on motion sensors, and most of the time they wouldn't respond to me. I started feeling as if I were Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense.

I was taught to foot-flush and to hover in public bathrooms but do neither anymore. I'm curious about the "face over the bowl" comments from foot-flushers, as I don't normally experience this.

Now that I hand-flush, I typically turn to the side as I stand and use the nearer hand (usually the right) to grasp the lever and flush on the way up. Sometimes I need to lean back a touch if the lever is especially low. I never really thought about it until now, but this way my back is to the toilet, not my face.